


I Found

by UnderFoxglove



Category: Breeds, The Breeds
Genre: Advanced Technology, Assassins & Hitmen, Drinking, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empath, Empathetic Abilities, Enhanced DNA, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Frustration, Genetically Engineered Beings, Guns, Hiding in Plain Sight, How Do I Tag, Hunting, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, M/M, Manipulation, Mates, Psychic Abilities, Smoking, Strategy & Tactics, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Undercover, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 22:15:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7951222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderFoxglove/pseuds/UnderFoxglove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Code Name: Fall | Ashlynn Travers | Birth Name: Ashlynn Ariana Rothman | Birth Parents: Larissa and Nathaniel Rothman | Adopted Mother: Anitta Travers | Statues: Dangerous but not a threat to the Breed society. | If possible support, disarm and bring in. | Warning: Her appearance is misleading. If approached, do not underestimate. If she doesn't have a weapon trained on you, someone else does. (this will probably change when I think up an ACTUAL summary because I'm so very bad a these things? But I posted it for the light of my life because she said it'd make her happy)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I'll use you as a warning sign

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sovereignofmysoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sovereignofmysoul/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own any characters mentioned unless otherwise stated.  
> Ashlynn (her group) and Lore are my OCs
> 
> A lot of the chapter titles (who am I kidding, all of the chapter titles are song lyrics and many may change to hopefully have a better matched feeling for the chapter)  
> This chapter title is from I Found by Amber Run, along with the over all title of the story because I love to hurt myself and now I can't listen to the song without being smacked in the face with feelings. Does not help that the song is good like that on its own though.
> 
> This started out as a spur of the moment fic, that turned into a spur of the moment pinterest board, that turned into a little bit more?
> 
> https://www.pinterest.com/underfoxglove/ch-flashfire/

Cabal handed the file his brother had given him over to Lore.  
"So your underground guy was taken into another group when his cover had been blown?"

  
Jonas hadn't turned from the window since calling in the three Enforcers. No doubt Cabal and Tanner would object to the mission, seeing as how they were mated. But they wouldn't deny it, not with what was at stake and their senses were vital to succeed.

  
"No, they came in because his cover had been blown, they were trying to get information from him. The group that has him now have a pretty well known reputation for finding and clearing out The Councils hidden bases and rescuing those that've been abducted"

  
No doubt, the brothers were throwing each other warning glances. "Then why are we here?"

  
He turned now and came back to his desk, retrieving the second file that they'd managed to pull together. He was surprised they had as much information as they had on the group and their leader. His informant had been passing off more and more vague details about the group, particularly the woman he described as its leader and it was starting to piss him off. Luckily Tanners mate Scheme was more than skilled enough to pull the pieces together.

"Because this is the down period of the group, they'll all be off the grid until everyone has healed from the last strike. The woman leading them took a shot to the shoulder. This'll likely be the only chance we get to bring her in"

He saw the confusion on his mens faces, they wouldn't know why getting the woman was a priority. The only name they had known her by was Fall for the past several years. It was the only name The Council had known her by as well.  
Now however, they had just enough information to tie Fall to someone who was supposed to be dead and it had been nothing more than a stroke of luck that they'd got her blood at the last underground lab. The results had brought up someone The Council had had an alert on for _years_.

"The blood we found has confirmed that 'Fall' otherwise known as Ash Travers is actually Ashlynn Ariana Rothman" All three men in front of him tensed at the name.

Lore was the one who spoke up, his golden eyes narrowing.  
"You mean the child that The Council put an alert out on when she was no more than 8 years old? Rothmans youngest daughter, who was supposed to be dead along with the rest of his family." Jonas decided to ignore the sound of warning in his Enforcers voice. Rothman was well hated within their community, he didn't need the reminder of how much.

They were all well aware of The Council's _bring in alive_  alert put on the child, even though all evidence reported that the girl had perished along with her mother and sister within the fires that brought her family home to the ground. Apparently someone had spotted her with Anitta Travers in a small town before they vanished again. That was, until Anittas body had been discovered the next state over, with no signs of the child. He had gone himself to recover her, not trusting law enforcement to do a thorough enough investigation and he'd discovered that her and the Rothman child had been together long enough that their scents had long past started to mingle. He had no doubt that even now, Ashlynn would carry the bases of her familial scent but it was becoming masked by Anittas scent. Anitta had marked the girl as her own child.

That information alone had Callan more interested in the search than he was comfortable with. But Anitta had been one of Callans litter mates, any chance of learning what had happened between her disappearance and death were crucial. Finding Ashlynn and running tests were also crucial, the files hacked from Council sources were vague, noting missing vials of 'unknown' substances in Rothmans sections and some small claims that the child was displaying changes. Whatever Rothman had done had eased The Councils anger at him for his thievery enough to allow him to survive and a search be issued for his missing daughter. Jonas wasn't going to let them get their hands on her first.

|||

Three weeks.

It had been three weeks since Jonas had sent them out to the, at most, vague descriptions of the location their target had been headed. The person that was supposed to be providing them with more detailed information on her movements, the person that had been following Ashlynn since the group had went back underground to recuperate had stopped contacting them when they reached the small town of Sandpoint Montana. Lore was beyond done with being stuck with the Bengal Twins, both had started to be unbearable company. Being away from their mates for so long, with so little to show for their efforts and they only had two more weeks before Ashlynn would return to her group and renew their attacks on The Council. Rendering it almost impossible to get within an arms reach of the woman again.

If their source didn't show up tonight, they were going to return to Jonas with nothing and that was something Lore didn't even want to think about. He'd been adamant on their capturing her, preferably without force but he hadn't ruled it out either. Not to mention that before they headed out, Callan stopped them to reinforce the importance of them getting Rothman's daughter.

"Someone's coming."

That someone was walking loudly in their direction. Once they were within range, three guns raised up to greet the newcomer and his hands went up immediately. He greeted them with a low growl. "Well if you're gonna treat me like that, I'll just leave and let you try find her on your own."

Six hours later, Jonas was with them in the house of an old man, Mr. Jones, who had all but ushered the four men into his kitchen for tea when Jonas had mentioned expanding Breed homing options in the small and 'charming' town. Lore was a little more than uncomfortable at being crammed in the space but the old man had listened to Jonas and had asked his own questions with hopeful optimism. Clearly Mr. Jones was an avid supporter of Breed politics, which was a nice change from the open critisim and disgust many other people held when it came to them. Though he clearly grew suspicious when Anitta and Ashlynn had been brought up.

"Miss Travers died some time ago I'm afraid, though I'm sure you know of that" he looked over the rest of them who had remained almost completely silent while him and Jonas had talked. Breathing in Lore had to restrain the grimace that threatened to ruin his composure. Sorrow had replaced the smell of curiosity now but Jones simply shook his head looking down at his mug.

"She was a wonderful tenant and neighbor. Her and her daughter had mostly stayed to themselves when they first arrived. Until my fall and heart attack that is. Her little girl all but saved my life" the smile that pulled at Jones' lips was more genuine that he'd of believed someone with his pain would manage.

"Her daughter? Ashlynn?"

Jones nodded and Lore could practically see Jonas's eyes piecing together what he was learning with what they already had on Anitta and Ashlynn.

"Oh the thing practically broke into my house! Not that I could have complained! Had she not, I would have died there in the hallway. But she'd climbed into the second story window I had left open and found me in the nick of time. After that Anitta and her helped out around the house, had dinner with me almost every night" the fondness that warmed Jones's voice almost eased the scent of his pain, almost.

"They both went missing though, I filed reports but it didn't seem like anyone was in a hurry to find them. Something about there not being enough information on them, I don't know. About a month later, little Ashlynn came back. Gave me a note from her mother saying that she was going to be out town for a couple weeks and asked if I would check in on her once in a while" he shook his head then took in a in shaking breath.

"It wasn't until after she disappeared again that I saw the announcement of Anittas death. And shortly after that payments started to come in monthly to cover the rent, that's why I was so surprised when Ashlynn showed up a couple weeks ago. Not that I'm not happy to see that she's okay but it's been a long time since I've seen such bleak eyes on someone so young."

They all said their goodbyes not long after that, thanking Mr. Jones for the tea and for his help. Jones in kind said that they could stop by whenever they wanted because he 'was always up for some good company'. Lore dare thought that Jonas might actually like the old man.


	2. I don't care if I'm playing with fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title brought to you by, In The Middle Of The Night by Within Temptation

She had to fight every instinct to not turn and run the moment she stepped out of the taxi, towards the home she grew up in. The home she was painstakingly keeping, all while trying not to draw attention to it. Instead, she fought to remain relaxed and casual as she paid the driver and turned to head down the driveway towards her garage. If they knew she knew they were there, if they even suspected she was aware of their presence, they wouldn't just sit around and wait for her to get inside. Anger surged through her, seeming to burn through her veins the closer she got. They were in her home, in _Nittas_ home. The last peaceful moment she had shared with the only family she had ever known. The last place that held evidence that Anitta had lived and lived _freely_ and they had invaded it.

Taking a slow breath, she walked calmly down the side of the house, tugging her satchel farther up onto her shoulder as she went. She ran though the only option she had, which strictly involved running and running like hell was on her heels. Which in all honesty, it just might be. She rounded the corner leading to the steps up to her back door and hauled ass down the into yard, towards the fence and the forest that laid beyond it. They wouldn't even realize she'd ran until she was at least halfway to the fence.

Hopefully.

The fence would be hell for her shoulder to take but she knew there were worse things than reopening a newly closed bullet wound. Worse things were probably waiting for her in the only haven she'd ever known. No, the fence wasn't going to be a problem at all. She just hoped she'd make it that far.  
She heard nothing the stretch of land between her and the shed that marked the halfway part of the yard, then her blood chilled at the sound of shouts and one bone shaking growl.

It wasn't that it was particularly loud, if the sound of her blood pounding in her ears was a fraction louder than it was, she wouldn't have heard it, but it resonated with aggravation and the kind of warning that made you hyper aware of everything around you. She forced herself not to look back, there was no time to gauge the distance between them and her, looking back would only delay her and she needed every second she could get.  
She couldn't out run a Breed but she could sure as hell outsmart one if she had to.

"She's running!"

No one had expected her to know they were there, all four men had positioned themselves for subduing her _inside_  the house. None of them were prepared to throw open the back door and clear the steps to sprint after the woman that was already well on her way to the fence that separated the back yard with the forest behind her house.

"She was shot in the left shoulder, there's no way she'll make the fence"

Lore didn't like the uncertainty in Cabals voice, he also didn't like the fact that he felt that same uncertainty so deep in his bones it drew a growl before he had time to swallow it down.

" _Shit!_ "

She made the damn fence and they were only just passing the shed. Before she dropped down below the wooden planks, he watched as her eyes quickly scanned the yard taking in how far off they were from her before she was gone from his sight.

Another growl tore through his chest and this time he didn't even try to stop it. They were _not_  going to lose this woman after all of this time, he wouldn't allow it.

The moment she hit the ground she was running and dragging her satchel in front of her to pull out the scent blockers she always had on hand. Dodging trees and weaving through thick under brush was almost second nature to her as she swallowed the pills, then doubled up using the modified epipen she had for a more immediate effect. The pills would defuse her own scent, the pen would change it ever so slightly so that they wouldn't be able to fully tell if she was actually the person they were after, when she risked a second dose later, maybe they wouldn't be able to catch any of her real scent at all. God she loved stealing supplies from Council labs, they'd be instrumental in how she stayed hidden and she loved taking their toys away from them.

She knew when the men after her had made it over the fence only because of how silent they'd become and the feeling that swirled in the back of her head, a feeling that wasn't even her own. They were determined, one more so than the other and that was dangerous. Hunting Breeds didn't stomp about like human men, they were all too aware of how to capture what they wanted, how to sneak up and surprise their target. She was the prey and they were the predators and she hated the way it made her stomach tighten in fear. No, they weren't going to get her in _her_  forest, this was her territory dammit. She and Anitta had wandered these woods the first few months that they'd been there, Anitta had said it was important to know your surroundings, it was something she'd taken to heart growing up. Now she was more than grateful for the lesson because now she knew every hiding place, the ones that were natural and the ones that were made by Nitta herself for emergencies.

She'd hidden in one the night Anitta had demanded her to hide and not come out, no one had found her, no one had heard her the moment she felt Anitta die, even though she had felt them searching, the darkness that enveloped their attackers had threatened to suffocate her that night. She knew she was going to have to use one again if she wanted to out match the people after her now but first, she had to set up for it.

First, she had to make it nearly impossible for them to locate her. Which meant she had to either make her scent vanish completely, or she had to _overwhelm them_ with it. The thought of the two mountains of men that had been running towards her as she dropped beyond the fence, circling the area, eyes in slits as they tried to pick one path to follow out of an area drenched in the scent of her blood almost had her laughing.

Almost.

There was always the chance that she wouldn't be able to pull it off, there was also the chance that they wouldn't leave the forest once they couldn't find her, thus trapping her in the hide out for longer than she needed. Making her miss the meet time and possibly putting Piper and the others in the line of fire trying to find her.  
She pushed that thought out of her mind as she pulled out a baggy of glass vials filled with her blood.

Some were fresher only drawn earlier that week, most would be too old for anything of greater importance but she hoped the varying stages of decay would further confuse her pursuers. Or at least take out the chance of them sniffing her out, she just had to make sure each of them broke on impact, which wouldn't be too hard. The glass of each one was relatively thin. If she really wanted to, she could crush one between her fingers. But she also had to make sure she didn't get any of it on her clothing.

She hadn't made it all of these years because she was backed up by a bunch of Breeds like most had thought. How many people had tried to kill or capture her when she was alone? She'd honestly lost count but each of them had been left either severally injured or dead. No, she'd made sure she was prepared for the stretches of time between their raids, their recovery and relocating. She had made sure she was capable of protecting her people in a way that could match how they could protect her. Whoever was after her now was going to have one hell of a time trying to out think her in her element.

She almost didn't notice the smile that tugged at her lips as she threw the first vial down on a stone to her left.


	3. I've moved further than I thought I could

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title I Found by Amber Run  
> (It's going to keep popping back up because /this song/)

"Whose going to be the one to call Jonas and tell him we lost her."

Lore watched as Cabal bent and picked up a piece of glass, the man glared at the thing like it was an affront to his very existence. Lore knew exactly how he felt.

"We weren't prepared for her to screen the damn place in her blood, he's going to want us to scour the whole damn forest and set up a perimeter to prevent her from slipping away"

Cabal nodded looking around taking in a deep breath, no doubt only pulling in the scent of her blood, decay and the lingering scent of satisfaction. The scent burned his mind, the damn woman had taken so much pleasure from destroying not only her scent trail but the physical one as well that it still lingered.

"God how long has she been storing this shit? Some of it smells like death."

Cabal wasn't wrong, each vial was obviously drawn at a different time. He wondered if she knew the effect it would have on a Breeds sensitive sense of smell. He shook the thought out of his head the instant it rose. Of course she knew what it would do, it's why she took so much satisfaction from what she'd done.

Cabal was growing tired of trying to locate the woman, she'd effectively knocked out not only Lore's ability to track her by scent but _his_. All he had was the scent of determination and an immense amount of satisfaction but it wasn't contained to one direction because she'd covered as much ground as possible with the lead she had on them and the wind had scattered the rest, so it wasn't going to lead him to wherever she'd holed up. He knew she wouldn't leave the forest though, it was a place she knew, leaving it when she was being tracked would leave her too vulnerable and she wouldn't allow that. He reflected on the scent he'd caught before she'd launched herself over the fence. Lore wouldn't have caught more than the rush of adrenaline, the sting of pain as she strained her injured shoulder and a flash of fear. He had also felt just how deep that fear ran, her capture meant everyone she worked with were in danger and she wasn't going to let that happen. If Jonas wanted to get Ashlynn, he was going to have to use the people around her. Going after the woman herself was only going to result in another situation like the one they were currently in and possibly someone dying.

Letting his gaze fall on the Lion beside him, he fought the smirk that threatened to appear and shoved his hand into his pocket for his phone. 

Lore's reaction to Ashlynn had been interesting to say the least. The amount of aggravation radiating off of him now however, honestly made Cabal want to antagonize him. He kept muttering about the nerve of the woman for being _so damn smug_  about her trick, pacing the small clearing that they had ventured into, where her assault on their sense of smell laid the thickest. Obviously still trying to find which way she'd actually ran off to.

Sighing he pressed in his code and dialed for the Director that had remained behind at her house to gather more information.

"Jonas, we've got an issue"

The growl that came through the phone didn't do the man justice, he had no doubt Jonas's cold silver eyes were nothing but fury right now. He hoped his brother would tread lightly until they returned.

+++

Four times she felt the brush of her Breed trackers anger and frustration skirt the edges of her mind as they searched the forest for her. Now that she had time to think and concentrate, she'd been able to sense just what followed her. One Bengal, who's frustration was swirled with an undeniable trace of amusement and one Lion, that was absolutely livid. She honestly tried not to feel smug at that but it was the fact that _she_ , a human woman, had evaded them had caused him that anger. It would show them for breaking into someones house and underestimate them just because they were _weaker_  than them.

On reflex she ran her hand over the flat stone she'd slipped over the entrance to the underground hide out that Anitta had dug out herself, to make sure it was secure enough to hide her scent before slipping back into to little cave-like structure and pulling out her phone. She had turned it off before leaving town and now she was glad she had. Having it off meant no one could track her, but hopefully they hadn't brought out the tech to do it yet because before she removed the sim card, she was going to have to make sure she sent an alert that would activate a safe guard she'd had Ray create.

One code and it would set off a counter. If the preset number of days passed without her reactivating her phone, a message would be sent out to Piper and Crane giving them the exact location her phone had pinged in at before going offline, and what to do with the people that counted on them for safety before even considering looking for her.

She didn't think it was necessary but it was better to be safe than sorry. If something happened to her, she didn't want them searching for her when they could be relocating the people in their safe houses to prevent the risk of Council members from tracking them down. The priority was them and their safety, she'd decided a long time ago that that was why she'd survived, her purpose was to protect the people The Genetic Council and their supporters wanted to eradicate. Fight for them as Anitta had fought for her and track down the ones that were responsible for Nittas death.

It took her less than a second to type in the code to activate the safe guard ' _Freeze_ ' then pulled the battery out. She stared at the blackened screen for a moment before moving into action.

First her clothes had to go, luckily the last time she'd stopped by, she'd moved through all of the hide outs and stocked them with clothes she'd gotten from a second hand store. None of them would smell like her, they wouldn't even hold the scent of the place she'd bought them, even without being locked away in a hold for months but she'd taken painful steps to make sure that they would only smell of the forest around her. She sat the paper wrapped package beside her before running her hand through her hair.  
Step one?

Kill the scent of sweat and human, even though it should be lessened and modified enough by now, she couldn't risk the chance that the Breeds had caught it while she ran. She needed to change it further, wipe out the human aspect as much as possible without over doing it in a way that made it apparent that that was what she was doing. Running her hands over the dirt covered ground she sighed and pulled her hair out of the band that had kept it in its braid, and started to brush it out with her fingers.

With enough dirt, it would cover most of her scent, and she'd be able to shake the excess off later. A day underground would take care of the rest of her. Even though she was uncomfortable being exposed for any duration, she stripped down and wrapped her clothing up in a bag and tucked it where the other clothes had been stashed. Several hours with just her and the hard ground around her and she'd be confident enough that she'd smell of mostly dirt. She could dress again in the clothes that she'd left out in the elements, then she could take another dose of the scent blockers. It was risky taking so many at once, the absence of scent was just as much of a give away as scent itself but she was hoping that the smell of the den would waylay that. While she waited, she couldn't help but think about the fact that she'd never be able to return to her home again.

Not that she returned all that often to begin with. If she came back often, the chances of someone finding it would have been too great even with all the precautions she'd taken. Even with her only returning on the rare breaks between raids and rescues to make sure it was still in good condition and check on Mr. Jones from afar, someone had managed to find it. She wished she'd of taken the picture of her and Anitta that was stashed in the hollowed post of the stair case before she'd went out to the town earlier today. Some thing physical to carry with her at least.

Sometimes memories weren't enough.


	4. Better bring your best if you wanna play my game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title Invincible by Ruelle  
> (I am in love with every Ruelle song I have ever heard and it's outrageous okay, outrageous)

Jonas had indeed made them set up a perimeter.

Throughout the rest of the day, he had them patrol the forest. Not that any of them expected her to run, he had agreed with Cabal when he said that she would haul up for as long as she could before making a break for it. Their rounds were just to prevent her from making her escape until Lance or Megan made it in the heli-jet. Then when whichever of the cousins arrived, they'd be able to track her down. Lance would be able to tell where she was if they were lucky. If they weren't lucky, then he would definitely know when she decided to make a run for it. Megan would be able to feel her out. Lore had hoped it would be Megan, he thought it'd be easier for the empath to pinpoint Ashlynn, especially if she ended up staying where ever she'd curled up. Lance's ability to hear through the wind might not work if she wasn't where the wind could follow. But Lore couldn't be positive, he didn't know how the Sheriff's abilities worked and nor did he want to. Just as long as they worked.

"What if she takes a chance to run while we're waiting for them to arrive."

Cabal was sitting down on the small couch inside Ashlynn's house, he looked deceptively relaxed.

"The rounds should make her wary enough to stay hidden, if not I'm sure she'll have another trick for us in order to throw us off her tail. She's cunning enough, I bet Jonas didn't think to factor that in because he believed his own cunning would be enough."

Lore wondered if the Bengal would risk saying something like that to the Director himself. He figured he probably would, the Bengal had never been one to withhold what he thought, he doubted he stop just because he'd been mated.

"She knew we were here."

Luckily it was Tanner that had came in behind them and not Jonas. None of them were quite in the mood to deal with him just yet. Clearly the Director hadn't expected their target to be so prepared for a sneak attack, nor so apt to counter it.

Lore had been replaying the moment she'd gotten out of the taxi, he hadn't thought anything of it at the time but for a split second, she had tensed, her shoulders going stiff but it was gone so quickly you wouldn't have even noticed if you weren't paying attention. He hadn't been paying attention then. She'd of known they were there right then and she made her way down the driveway as though she'd intended on entering like nothing was wrong. She'd fooled them all because none of them could catch the scent of deception from from within the house. Could she have the same emphatic abilities that Megan had? If so, they would never get to her before she realized what they were doing and slip through their fingers yet again.

Not for the first time since Jonas had disappeared into the basement, he glanced at the closed door.

What the hell was he looking for? The entire house had been searched, every item turned and examined then placed exactly where it had been before he'd moved onto the next. The upstairs had been divided up between Cabal and himself, Jonas had taken the basement over an hour ago.

As if the man had heard his thoughts, Jonas opened the door and stepped back up into the main of the house. A large manila envelope tucked under his arm that hadn't been there when he'd descended into the musky basement.

The thing slapped down on the table beside him with a surprising amount of weight.

"Anitta left this hidden in a part of the basement wall."

Three pairs of eyes fell on the opened package before drifting back up to Jonas's unsettling silver ones.

Turns out, Anitta had started keeping a diary of sorts after taking Ashlynn in. Inside the package were pages of her writing, explaining her time with her 'Little Cub', the kindness she'd found in Mr. Jones and her worry about The Council coming to find Ashlynn because of the information she'd discovered. She also stashed the file on Rothman she'd stolen from the burning house and second file though a frustratingly small one, on the 'experiment' he'd been conducting with his youngest daughter before his associates had picked up on the incorrect logs he'd dated, some pictures of Anitta and Ashlynn and a flash drive. Lore's gaze kept falling back on a picture someone, probably Jones himself, had taken of Anitta and Ashlynn in his kitchen. She couldn't have been more than seven in the image, wide mesmerizing grey blue eyes stared up at Anitta as though the Lioness was her entire world and Anittas own feline green eyes held a kind of peace and warmth that made his chest ache. Just that simple change had altered her appearance dramatically from the one he'd seen in her file, her eyes no longer held the torment many Breeds gaze still held, it wasn't gone but it wasn't what ruled her life anymore. The picture made it easier for Lore to understand how she had forsaken her want for revenge on the Rothman family. Who could harm a child that stared at you with eyes like that?

"We aren't going to be able to get anywhere near her if what Anitta's written is even half true."

Cabal shifted, flipping to another page of Rothmans file.

"These mention nothing about her having emphatic abilities until after he started her injections."

Though Tanner nodded, his expression made it clear he didn't quite agree.

"No but she was so young that they may have never had a chance to show themselves before he started."

That was true, until they knew what he'd been injecting her with, they'd never know if whatever abilities she had now were there at birth or if they'd been a direct effect of the serum she'd been repeatedly exposed to. Or if the injections simply strengthened the latent abilities.

Jonas ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes for a moment.

"The file mentions that her sister had been too old and he was forced to quit because his wife was growing suspicious of their daughters behavior. It seems as though when Ashlynn was born, Larissa favored her sister and either didn't notice the same signs she had with Michelle or chose to ignore them. Whatever the case, we have to figure out a way around her sensing us to get her."

+++

She allowed herself a few hours of light sleep before formulating a plan. She knew there were at least six of them now. Though they never ventured too close to the den, they did at least circle past it once or twice.

Never the same person though but all of them were alert, waiting for some kind of sign that would point to her location and biding their time. She didn't like _that_ feeling. She'd felt one of the men from earlier, the one that hadn't been amused at her tactics, as he'd drifted right over her. She sent silent thanks to Anitta for digging the den down deeper in the natural crevice of the land.

He wouldn't hear her heart beat even with his heightened sense hearing, Anitta had told her that all of the locations she'd made herself were made in thought of another Breed hunting them. It'd been a while since he'd passed though and everyone else had moved too far away for her to sense anymore.

And although it allowed her a chance to fight the fatigue she was feeling from pushing herself to sense them, she didn't like _that_ either.

If they'd changed their tactics from scanning the area, to keeping an eye on the edge of the forest she wouldn't be able to get away. Unless she pulled out the something she hadn't had a chance to test yet.

Grabbing her satchel she tugged out another plastic bag that held another item that she'd stolen from one of the labs they'd hit several months ago.

The metallic spheres that fell into her hand were cool against her skin and practically begging to finally be tested. She hadn't been able to since getting them because the chance of it back firing on the Breeds she ran with were too great and she hadn't had a need to stun anyone badly enough that they were relevant, until now.

If they didn't work, she at least still had her knowledge of the land and the city the next town over on her side. If she could get there, there was virtually no way that they'd be able track her. All of the people, the scents, the sounds, she'd be able to vanish for the most part. Not to mention she'd be able to steal whatever she needed to up her game in case they _did_ manage to keep a tail on her.


	5. Give it your all despite what it takes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Battle Cry by Angel Haze

Jonas watched as his Enforcers, save for Lore, sat scattered around the small house waiting for their orders.

They'd pulled out of the woods, Megan, her mate Braden and Lance were only a few hours away, and he was confident that their constant sweeps of the place would keep Ashlynn where ever she was for at least that amount of time. That didn't mean he would leave the area without eyes on it. He had Lawe, Tarek and Rule patrolling the edge of the forest, just in case. Anittas upbringing was becoming glaringly apparent in the woman, even if she wasn't aware of it herself. The lioness had passed on her unshakable determination to succeed onto her adopted daughter. He had no doubt that she'd work her way out of their hands if they went after her without Megan there to catch her thoughts and emotions.

No, Cabal was right, if they couldn't capture her here with Megan and Lance, they were going to have to move onto the people she cared about and that meant that he had to get his informant to actually pass on detailed information again.

His eyes followed Lore, who was restlessly moving through out the house only to stop back in front of the pile of photos they hadn't recollected and stare down at them. The normally collected Breed was clearly on edge, his shoulders tense with agitation so strong Jonas was starting to wonder.

If maybe, there was another way he could trap her.

+++

Light was no longer streaming in the edges against the rock that made the make shift door to her den. Which meant that it was long past time to make a move.

Her clothing were dark enough to help her blend in as night fell, but not so dark that she would stand out in the forest against the natural shadows. She was striving to _be_ one of those shadows, just a moving one and she knew another human wouldn't be able to track her movements. Breeds where another thing altogether though, if she didn't move the right way, they'd spot her, she had to stay low and move confidently, gracefully. She knew from training with Piper and Crane that though they couldn't quite  _see_ in the dark, their eyes were much more adapt for tracking movement in the limited light than a human being's.

Part of her was tempted to just stay hidden for the next few days but she didn't have food for that. Not that she wasn't able to go without food for a couple days but she didn't want to be physically _and_ mentally fatigued and the two bottles of water in her bag weren't going to keep up her strength. She couldn't risk that, not with the chance of a physical confrontation.

No, she had to move now.

The warning she felt down her spine had all but decided that for her. Something was going to go down and she couldn't risk the chance that it'd have her captured. No one was close enough for her to sense. It was both good and bad in this situation. At least if they were close enough for her to pick up on she'd know exactly where they were and have at least _something_ for her to use as a counter measure.

So with one last move to ensure she was adequately covered with the smell of dirt, she carefully eased the slate rock away from the den and slipped out into the forest once more.

The sun was almost below the horizon now, casting darker shadows in the dense underbrush perfect to use as cover. In a matter of minutes her forest would be shrouded in darkness.

Everything had been going rather smoothly. She'd kept low, following the shallow creek towards one of small roads she knew laid beyond the tree line. Only twice had she felt a Breed but they were so far off of her reach that they'd drifted in and out of her perception before the sensation faded away.

Were they aware that she could feel them? Had someone sensed _her_  reaching out to find and track them? It wasn't impossible, she'd encountered humans _and_ Breeds that had the ability to sense her when she reached out. She was usually really good about keeping it locked down though. Enough so that she could sense but not _be_ sensed.

The sound of a heli-jet drew her up short and she lowered herself between some rocks, hoping they hadn't brought out a search light.

Then she felt the familiar sensation of her mind being brushed by someone else's. Though she wasn't used to having someone reach out to _her,_  she knew the feeling well enough to know she was screwed. The feeling was coupled by warmth and a desire to... Help, help who? Help _her?!_  Helping her would mean getting the hell out of her mind and letting her escape instead of leading who she was with to her.

She rejected the feeling so violently it all but lashed against her senses and she gave up on silent stealth in favor of getting as far away from the source of the emotions as possible.

They'd brought in a fucking _empath!_

She couldn't read the woman's mind, that had never been something she could manage but she knew whoever was reaching out to her _could_. Which meant her thoughts, her emotions, hell even her vision might be used against her.

Clearing her mind was priority, her lips curled in a snarl as she felt the woman reaching out to her again.

Swearing, she dug into her pack and pulled out a pair of headphones. It was risky, it was _more_  than risky to do what she was thinking of doing. But she couldn't see a way around it. She'd just have to focus on feeling her attacker's intent and hope her reflexes were quick enough if they caught up with her. Headphones in her ears she turned on her ipod and let loose the song she'd been listening to in the cab in hopes it'd put a sort of mental barrier between her and the woman still trying to reach out to her.

She'd have to concentrate on the music lyrics and the emotion there and rely solely on her body moving on instinct until she got out of the empath's range. It'd be bad enough that they'd know where she was now and that she was on the move, she didn't need them knowing what she was thinking before the thought was even fully formed.


	6. With peace of mind so hard to find

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lost by Avenged Sevenfold

"She knows I'm here, I don't think she's picked up on yet Lance though."

Three angry swears filled the night.

"She's an empath too then, Anitta's assumptions were correct."

Megan shook her head moving along with Braden and Lore through the trees. Cabal followed not too far behind. The others had split off with Lance, Jonas and Tanner. Two groups of three following her and another group three that were circling the area on land rovers and he was still positive she'd give them more than a run for their money.

"Not quite. She can sense me but that's about it, it's how she knew you were in the house. But she can't hear thoughts or see images from someone else. Emotions and intention are what she picks up. But she has incredible instincts to guide her even if she didn't have that."

Lore wasn't surprised to hear that but it didn't mean he liked it. He heard the click of his headpiece before Lance's voice came through.

"She's running again, if we don't catch up to her soon we're going to lose her. She knows the land much better than we do. Megan you get anything new?"

Megan was shaking her head even though her cousin wouldn't see the action.

"She's blocking me out now, aside from the determination and anger, all I've got is-" her head tilted and a small smile stretched across her face before she continued "All I'm getting is Unbound."

They all looked at her, Braden's brow arched and she patted his shoulder as she passed under a low hanging tree branch.

  
"It's a song by Avenged Sevenfold."

 +++

She hit the clearing at a an all out run, one more section of trees to maneuver through and then she'd hit the road. What she did once she got to the road however, was now out the window. She didn't have time to wait for a car to go by and hitch a ride. She didn't even have time to pause and catch her breath.

She felt them gaining on her, felt another presence that made the blood in her veins chill. Someone else that could feel her, the voice in the back of her mind kept echoing  _he reads the wind_ and fuck if she knew what that meant, aside from the fact that it wasn't good for her.

The empath was enough dammit! Leave it to the Breeds to have an unnatural amount of people with physic abilities with them. It wasn't like they had enough of it by themselves, heaped upon criminally enhanced strength, sight and smell.

No, they just _had_ to have stacked the deck.

She felt the preparation to attack ahead of her and she froze turning her back to the one location she didn't feel anyone coming from yet.

Three sides, they were coming in from three directions and she could feel them spreading out, closing off any way for her to escape. She concentrated on the music still playing in her ears and tired to relax her shoulders. If she tensed up now, she might not be able to move as quickly as she needed.

Slowly she turned, following one presence particular, the one that she felt was calling the shots. She couldn't see him, but she knew he could see her. She hoped that pinpointing the lion might of unsettle him but she figured it wouldn't. He was too in control for it to unnerve him, that and she felt the knowledge and the calculations swirling around him even from where she was standing.

Dammit, they thought they had her, were _sure_  of it.

The wind picked up, making the hair that fell out of its hold tickle her face.

Nine. There were nine of them.

Two were human, two were humans that carried with them the knowledge that let her know there was something a little... More. It was a familiar feeling, she'd brushed against it enough know that it meant people had stronger senses or physic abilities. Better intuition.

Two were bengals, one of which still held the amusement he had when they were searching for her earlier.

Three were lions, one of those three was the leader of this team. The other was the one she'd been glad at pissing off earlier. She might regret feeling that pride now but not by much.

The other two were Coyotes and she paid extra close attention to them but when she didn't feel the darkness many carried that tighten her throat painfully, she mentally relaxed a fraction.

At least they didn't carry the dark ichor of violence many of the Council Coyotes did. Still she made sure to turn and skim her eyes over each person closing in on her as she eased her hands into her pockets where she'd slipped the metal spheres earlier and ran her fingers over the smoothness of them. It was a comforting motion.

A figure stepped out into the clearing, and she felt the others move in closer but they held off an attack. Though she didn't think there were any guns pointed in her direction, she wouldn't be surprised if there was. She was already stretching herself out too much for her liking, she might not sense the intent to fire until it was too late.

She didn't move as he stepped forward.

Unnerving silver eyes met her own, his mouth opened but what ever he said was lost on her. She forced herself to pay closer attention to the music, letting anything slip now would be disastrous, instead she let the music wash over her clearing her mind the best she could.

She did however, send a silent 'fuck you very much' to the empath that was skimming the walls she'd hurriedly put up. She might have felt a trickle of laughter against her mind and ignored it in favor for keeping eye contact with the lion in front of her and controlling her breathing.

She didn't like how she could see him thinking, couldn't tell what it was but she knew she didn't like it.

He must have motioned for them to move in on her because at once, they all surged forward.

She ducked and barely missed the strong arms coming down on her, she hadn't even felt the human male coming up from behind her! How had he managed that?

She swore, kicked out at the bend in his knee before coming back up on her feet to come eye to eye with angry golden eyes, with out an ounce of remorse she pulled the spheres from her pockets and pressed the triggers.

 +++

Whatever warning Lance was about to give was cut off by the loudest ear splitting wail Lore had ever heard in his life.

He ducked, covering his ears and he felt Ashlynn sprint by him. All he could manage was to turn away from the sound and growl as he watched her vanish into the trees with watering eyes.

He heard Lance shouting, saw Megan drop to the ground in searching for something and shout over at her cousin. He couldn't hear words though, just barely audible sounds coming through the electronic wail.

What the _hell_ had she done to them?

It took them way too long to find each of the hellish devices that she'd dropped. Lore felt like his head had been electrocuted. He had no doubt that the others felt the same way. Luckily they had Lance and Megan to gather and disable the things. Though he figured even _their_ ears were ringing from the damn things.

"Where the hell did she even get those?!"

Braden had his head between his knees, Megan was rubbing his back. Cabal and Tanner had been ordered back to the house. Lance was looking in the direction the Human Terror had ran off in.

Jonas was fuming, so was Lore.

"Probably from one of the labs they destroyed, she ran off towards the road we should be able to catch up to her pretty quickly."

Lance was shaking his head as Kiowa let off a growl surprising almost all of them.

"That isn't good."


	7. There is beauty in the lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars

She could hear the electronic wail even over her music, even almost at the road with the headphones in she could still hear it.

Though from where she was it sounded more like a dog whistle, she'd seen the affect it had had on the Breeds. Each of them had moved instantly to cover their ears from the assault. Even the two humans had flinched.

She was really glad she never tested them when her people were around.

Hitting the road she had decided to follow it for as long as she could before slipping down into the ravine on the other side. Or it was, until the metallic shine at the side of the road caught her attention.

There was no way, no way in hell that was what she thought it was.

Taking the chance she moved towards the motorcycle, scanning it quickly before her eyes landed on the keys, still in the ignition.

Throwing a glance up the hill she felt the smile that tugged at her lips. Damn cocky bastards, they definitely thought they had had her in the clearing. They were so positive she wouldn't get away that there they felt there was no need to take the keys. An easy departure for them, turned into an easier escape for her.

Slipping onto the bike she turned the keys in the ignition and felt a wave of excitement surge through her veins as it came to life under her. She felt the animal roar in the back of her mind as she revved the engine and didn't stop the laugh that fell fall from her lips. But it was devoured by the sound of the motorcycle as she took off down the road.

The first thing she did when hitting the larger city was find someone to pawn the bike off on. She wasn't naive enough to think that it wouldn't be tracked. It was actually why she hadn't disabled the GPS her first stop. She wanted them to see where she was going so when she headed a different way and the bike remained in the city, they wouldn't really have a place to start. The extra cash also something she needed.

She'd gotten a little over nine hundred for it, even though she knew she could have gotten so much more, she'd ceded to the shady salesman and allowed the 'deal'.

It wasn't like he wouldn't have a hell of a time once they tracked it down it anyway. She figured it'd be sort of divine retribution for how he'd clearly been ripping off anyone that came to him.

The second thing she did was hop on a departing bus to the next town. She'd transferred over to another one when it arrived at its stop and settled in for the day long ride into the larger city. When it finally stopped, she debated on sticking it out once more but decided she needed to wash the grime of the forest off of her, eat and change her look before someone else folded a dollar bill into her hand with a look of disgust and pity.

So she'd slipped off with the crowd of people and headed out to find what she needed. She didn't know the area but it was a large enough place that she knew she'd have little issues finding the things she wanted.

First stop was a hotel to wash up, which had been more than easy to accomplish. Then she headed out to find a department store. Her second hand clothes _had_  to go. The area was littered with the high end business classes, if she stuck to what she was in, she'd stick out way too much.

She'd spotted several clubs as she made her way down the side walk and decided slipping into one of them would work in changing up her scent a bit. Alcohol, desire and desperation were always a good scent screen.

It didn't take her long to find a store that would work with what she wanted to accomplish. Even if it did take her a while to find a dress that covered most, if not all of her scars.

Though at first, the saleswoman had sneered at her. When she picked out an expensive dress and 'edgy' ripped charcoal tights with matching heels and flashed the cash, though, the saleswoman was more than willing to help her. She even recommended several salons that offered full body spa treatments. She accepted the advice, leaving dressed in what she'd purchased.

By the time she was done, her long hair had been braided, styled and curled in a way that was rumpled but stylish.

Her make up was done in shadowy tones, making her already pale grey eyes glow, they looked almost ethereal. She'd allowed the stylist to paint her lips in a dark red with a darker border to 'contrast her eyes' and on impulse, she even had her nails done. Now her hands bore blood red talons that gleamed almost dangerously in sunlight.

Looking in the full body mirror her stylist had motioned her to she couldn't help the grin that stretched her red lips thin.

It was most predatory look she'd ever seen on her face.

Once she covered herself in the scent of a club, none of the people that had circled her in the forest would know who she was. She looked like a socialite, which was a far cry from the rumbled dirty clothing that they had last seen her in.

She thanked the woman with a generous tip and slipped out into the evening. She debated on taking off the pendant that she wore because of how it clashed with her clothes but decided against it.

She never took off Anitta's pendant, she wasn't going to let some stubborn Breeds be the reason it finally came off of her neck.

 +++

Jonas had a way of getting what he wanted.

Which was why 48 hours ago they were standing in yet another bus station security office, reviewing the tapes from the past 2 days.

The man that tried to sell them their own bike and been a much greater help than he'd imagined, once he discovered he'd bought a 'federal vehicle'. Saying that if the 'bitch that sold the bike to him' knew it was hot, she'd get out of the area as soon as she could. Conveniently, there'd been a bus headed off towards Washington only an hour after she had arrived and ditched the bike.

Now Lore was walking down the side walk towards his hotel, where Cabal and Tanner were waiting. None of them had caught her scent, no one knew of the woman they were describing or recognized the sketch they had showed. But he knew she was here, he could feel it.

He just couldn't fucking _find her,_ and the aggravation he felt from it had his skin itching.

No human should be so hard to track down, he didn't care if she'd trained with the Breeds in her group. She shouldn't be able to vanish so damn easily.

Stifling a growl he shifted to let a man and woman slip by him then inhaled and paused. The man reeked of desire, the woman however only smelled of deception.

Whatever the woman's plans, he wondered if the poor sap knew he was being played, but the tone of his voice was steady, bragging. No, he'd made himself an easy target for her.

He watched as the man opened the door to his car for the woman on his arm and moved around the car to get in and lean towards her, brushing a strand of hair from her face before slipping his arm over her shoulders.

He could see why he'd been so easily conned, the woman by his side was in a tight black dress with lace sleeves that widened the farther down her arms it went. A tarnished silver pendant laid in the dip of the dress collar. A man would be damn near willing to let her have anything she'd wanted with pout of those lips.

She looked up, meeting his eyes as he lifted his gaze and her red lips twitched into a smile that nearly took his breath away.

He saw recognition in the eyes that were now narrowing on him and then it hit him.

 _Ashlynn_.

As the engine roared to life and pulled away from the curb, away from _him_ , he watched almost in a daze as the car sped off causing her hair to whip around her face and as the sun came down on her, it caste her brown hair into sea of red gold that left the impression of fire.

A growl tore itself from his chest as she raised a small hand to her mouth and blew him a kiss just before they turned and for the third time in just as many days, she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference for Ashlynns "rumpled but stylish" hair, because I'm a sucker for pinterest okay.  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AfMxHxkXSkS69nvriVqwBLFlLPczVUTw4lM679UwrpUH3SBtRX02u-E/
> 
> I still haven't found what I want for her dress but when I do it'll be added.


	8. I don't want to rest in peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skulls by Bastille

She thought she was done for the moment she felt the same lion from before, then double so when she _saw_ him. But she realized her plan had worked out better than she could had hoped.

He let her and Dean, a rich guy from the club she'd slipped into earlier that day, walk right by him to Dean's car. She let Dean usher her into it, keeping her gaze down until he'd gotten in the drivers seat and although she was frustrated he didn't just start up and pull away, she'd kept herself relaxed and flirty as he brushed her hair from her face and eased his arm around her shoulders.

Unable to stop herself, she lifted her gaze to find golden eyes raking over her before pausing at her mouth.

She smiled before she could stop herself and his eyes raised to meet her own but she didn't feel or see any recognition from him, not yet. Just a subtle hint of desire, which had struck her harder than the desire dear Dean had been emitting since they'd met.

She saw when he realized who he was looking at, watched the fury cloud everything she'd seen in those molten gold eyes in seconds and couldn't help but blow him a kiss as they sped away.

She doubted he'd chase them down, not in such a public place but now that he'd not only seen her but she'd openly taunted him? She had to put a wrench in Deans plans, asking him to stop at her hotel so that she could 'get her things' before heading off to his penthouse. He'd offered to join her and she rebuffed, telling him that she didn't want to put him off with some of her more 'sensitive' things.

He hadn't argued, instead she'd left him leaning against his over-priced sports car and headed up to her room.

The moment she entered she had the dress off over her head, her heels kicked off and the tights tugged down her legs.

She practically ripped the shower curtain off of its hooks with the force that she'd dragged it open with so that she could rinse off and use a new body wash and rid her hair of the smell of the salon that no doubt lingered in it.

She may have indulged herself with another trip there after going to the club, one could get overly used to being pampered if one let themselves, and part of her really wanted to let herself, but her life had no place for pampering for no reason.

Stepping out she checked to make sure the make up was erased from her face and then grabbed the bag of cosmetics she'd grabbed for a cheap price and made her face up in a more simple business type way and added some freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Once that was done she threw the dress, tights and shoes into the trash can and dragged out her next outfit.

She tugged the dark grey pants suit on, buttoned the white undershirt quickly and then pulled on the matching grey jacket. With her pendant tucked away she grabbed the short blonde wig out of the bag she'd stashed it in after buying it from the hairdresser. The woman hadn't even blinked when she asked her to wear it for her. She simply shrugged and showed her how to put it on correctly and then explained that a lot of customers would ask to see 'how natural it looked when doing tasks' so her request hadn't been all that strange.

Wig in place, she slipped on the glasses she'd pocketed from a vendor and pushed them up on her nose.

Satisfied with how she looked, she shoved her satchel into the business brief case she'd bought before heading to the club earlier in the day and headed out the door. She walked out of the hotel putting chapstick on with her free hand, Dean didn't even glance her way.

A moment later and she was slipping into a taxi and asking him how far she could get for the amount of money she had, and turning her phone on to send a coded message to Piper about how she was going to head to the next meeting point earlier than expected.

 +++

Lore paced behind Tanner as he spoke to the hotel manager and Cabal looked over the footage from the lobby.

They'd managed to track the car Ashlynn had been in easily enough. The man she was with was still waiting outside, his scent carried an annoyance and disbelief that had him sure he'd been outside much longer than he was used to.

The damn fool was going to end up waiting all day. Ashlynn had no doubt made her way past him not long after he'd watched her step into the building. Part of him practically purred at the knowledge. The other half was still enraged that he'd let her slip away with the man without making a single move to stop her.

A whistle drew him up short and he leaned down towards the screen Cabal was staring at.

She entered the lobby with her head held high, not a single thing in her demeanor would lead you to believe she was getting ready to run. She looked like a damn politician's rebellious daughter, held the air of someone that knew they were important and wouldn't stand the thought of someone not treating them as if they weren't.

"Well I suppose I can't hold it against you for not recognizing her."

He growled at the bengal but managed to prevent himself from baring his teeth. The man had been pushing him ever since they'd left the forest. Eventually, he was going to end up throwing him through a damn wall.

"I told you, she didn't look anything like she did when we saw her. Didn't smell anything like she did before or after vanishing in the woods."

Cabal only hummed before stopping the tape.

"And she doesn't look anything going out like she did coming in either."

He pointed out an almost meek looking blonde. At first, he couldn't see it but the reaction he had when he _did_  had thrown him. Instead of the agitation he'd been stuck in the past three days, a sense of excitement was starting to take over. It wasn't just her looks that were different, her entire posture was different.

The person that had walked into the hotel had been an over confident heiress without a care in the world, the woman that left was a pressed for time tired business woman late for something she couldn't be late for.

She'd been trained in a way that only another Breed could train her and trained well. It took more than a change in clothing to deceive someones eyes, you had to be a different person, hold yourself a certain way to successfully slip under someones gaze without them seeing a connection.

How long had it been since it'd taken so much of his attention to find someone? Tracking Ashlynn would end up being a full time job, there'd be no relaxing while doing it and instead of being pissed off about it, he found himself looking forward to seeing what she came up with next. How would she slip by him this time? Or would she turn and fight, he'd seen her eyes in the clearing. If she had had to, she would have fought each of them, teeth bared and eyes blazing. He doubted she'd fight fair, would probably make the Coyotes in the group look tame in comparison. After all, she'd take every advantage she could against someone that out matched her in strength by nature.

He didn't fight the smile that revealed his incisors.

It was easy to get in and kill a target. Catching her would be more rewarding than any mission he'd ever been sent on.

When Cabal threw a questioning glance his way, he ignored it and moved to lean against the wall, waiting for them to head up to the room she'd stayed in.

+++

Cabal had sensed the exact moment Lore had given up his anger over losing Ashlynn repeatedly. The lion was getting caught up in the thrill of the chase that she provided. Underlying that however, was a desire he doubted even Lore was aware of. He'd have to talk Jonas into having his blood tested but if his assumption was correct, things were going to end up getting a whole hell of a lot more interesting for his friend.

"There's nothing in here."

Not much more than a hint of her scent was in the place, which wasn't nearly strong enough for her to be staying there for the amount of time that she had.

Pausing he glanced to the door connecting the room to the next and wondered if she had managed to get the thing unlocked. She'd proved to be more resourceful than he'd of imagined, it wasn't that much of a stretch that she'd of found a way to use the empty room in hopes of confusing them.

He hadn't been disappointed.

The next room held her discarded clothing, which had made him wag his eyebrows at Lore, ignoring the heated look he'd received he pulled out the heels next and dropping them beside the dress on the desk.

"Maybe we should return these to her, they look expensive."

Tanner groaned giving up his search of the room. She'd been careful, even in the place she'd actually slept in. The bed barely held her scent, meaning she slept the minimum her body would need to function, she ate only when hungry and must have disposed of the containers outside of the room. He also held the suspicion that she wouldn't eat something unless she watched it be prepared. Cabal was only steps from petitioning that the woman be trained to be an Enforcer once captured and brought in. He'd much rather have her on his side, than being bent on using that mind of hers to out maneuver them at every turn.


	9. To where the lonely ones roam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where the Lonely Ones Roam by Digital Daggers

She hadn't expected the trip to Washington to go so smoothly. Not once had she felt her earlier pursuers on her tail. Which either meant they hadn't caught her trail, though she doubted that, (they'd been too ... Reliable on tracking her so far) or that they were most holding back just enough that she couldn't sense them, watching her. Why they'd go from all out confrontation to observing her though, she didn't know.

She thought back to the man she'd seen on the sidewalk. His eyes as the fury over took them, the shock and lust that had been there right before her appearance had thrown him so completely, he hadn't even thought to move on her. That thought alone had an almost addictive sense of satisfaction thrumming through her veins. She'd been sure _he_  at least, would have been right on her heels. Pushing her to keep moving, to keep thinking ahead as far as she could to try and predict what he might do in reaction to her own actions.

She wasn't going to ponder the slight ring of regret she felt. All that mattered was that she had kept herself out of their hands and soon she'd be right back into the swing of things with her people. She'd ask Crane to evaluate her again, to make sure she wasn't slipping and then she'd drop right back into the fury of it all. She'd go back over her emergency plans for the safe houses and set up new messages to be sent out involving them.

It was her rule that only _she_  know about where the safe houses were until it was time to relocate them and even then, it was only her that knew when the relocation was happening and where the new locations were. Crane had scolded her about it 'what if something happens to you, how will we move them without knowing where they are' and she'd promised that she'd taken care of it all, he'd been furious at her but she'd assured him that she was only taking his training to heart.

But now that Chase and Rina were now a part of the mated complex and its security, she hadn't needed to worry about keeping it secure on her own.

She trusted Chase, trusted him with her life and because Rina was his mate, she trusted her too. No harm would come to the people in hiding with them, the mated couples and their families that relied on them for protection were in good hands. All she had to do was make sure no one caught wind of it and renew the protocols every couple months.  
Only, in order to renew the protocols, she was going to have to meet up with Chase and Rina before joining back up with Piper and the others. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to face Chase and the concern that would no doubt be pouring off of him.

She'd come to terms with the fact that Chase was mated, she was happy for him because he was happy but it was another matter of letting go of the feelings she had for him.

It didn't help that the two of them had started to grow more and more concerned over her 'lack of self preservation' after the shot she'd taken fives weeks ago from diving in front of Rina. It had been the day they'd met up to go over how they were going to get a new mated couple to South Africa so that she could get a message to her contact about it.

Though Chase had growled and swore he was going to drag her to a hospital and then get in contact with the Director of the Breeds Bureau and Rina had cried, holding her hands even though she knew it'd cause her pain due to the mating heat. In the end he had taken care of it and she'd effectively ignored the flash of guilt she'd felt from him.  
So she'd made him dig the bullet out from the other side telling him it'd be easier than digging it out from where it'd entered.

Yeah, it had hurt like hell but it wasn't the first time she'd been shot and it most likely wasn't going to be the last. Plus she'd needed the distraction, used the pain as a punishment for feeling even the small amount of regret in bringing Rina into the fold.

Sighing she stretched her legs out under her table and focused on feeling the area around her. It felt like the more she did this, the more she worked on expanding her ability to reach out, the stronger it got. She figured it was a lot like working out but she'd never really put much effort in strengthening whatever it was she had because she always relied on the physical aspects of a battle. Only using it as a last resort of sorts.

Running from the lions had made her rethink that strategy. For all of her life she'd been using any advantages she could but why hadn't she focused on the one that she'd already had and strengthen _that?_

Crane had been adamant on her physical training. Her reflexes, her ability to become anyone she needed to be in order to slip by undetected, her strength was meager at best compared to what a Breed could achieve but she was sure she packed one hell of a punch. Her stamina left something to be desired but she'd never been too keen on running anyway, why run from a fight if she could come out on top? And she almost always came out on top. Her mind was also something he demanded she keep sharp, "Think objectively and try to stay at least three steps ahead. You can't be afraid death if you're going to fight" Crane had told her when she was 12, and she'd accepted it without question.

Had Crane not encouraged her to train her abilities because it was something he didn't have the knowledge to?

The wolf had his animal instincts, which she was positive wasn't what she had. Having never really put much thought to it though, she didn't really know what to classify it as?

Maybe if she ever came across the woman empath she'd ask her if it simply fell under the category 'physic abilities' and maybe as some pointers on how to strengthen it to its full potential.

 +++

When Jonas' call came in, Lore had already set up a plan of movement. Luckily enough for the Director, it lined up well with what he had wanted.

Follow her, stay out of reach so she couldn't catch wind of him, watch her and learn how she worked and let her lead them to her people. Then continue to keep an eye on them to gather information about everyone around her, pick the weakest link and figure out a way to make Ashlynn come to _them_.

The more Lore learned about her, the more he _wanted_ to know.

She moved quickly, never lingering in one location for more than a day or two but the paths she took were never straight. Often times they back tracked and crossed ones she'd already taken.

If he wasn't trained the same way in the labs, he'd of never been able to track her. Part of him was irritated at the thought though. Someone had striped away the ease she could have lived with, she _should_  have been able to live with. Instead she would push herself to think outside the box but appear as though she was moving in a conventional way. Plan her steps days ahead and take precautions for things that might not even happen. It didn't leave much in way of living and the ease in which she fell into it meant she'd been doing for most of her life, most likely started to learn it after Anitta had died and she'd joined up with another Breed.

She ate two or three times a day, sometimes those meals consisted of a protein bar and a small bottle of milk. It was pushing the bare minimum of what a person should eat in order for their bodies to continue functioning, how strong could she become if she ate good meals regularly? Once she seemed to push off eating for a day, instead moving about the small town they were in, replenishing her supplies and changing her appearance yet again.

She didn't buy clothes new, instead she bought handfuls of previously owned items from second hand shops to shove into the tattered satchel she almost always had slung over her shoulder.

She also didn't sleep for more than 5 hours a night or day, depending on when she finally laid down. She also didn't sleep sprawled out in her bed, if she slept in the bed at all her back was always either against a wall or the headboard, a weapon close by and curled up so small anyone that might invade would miss her at first. If not, she moved a chair to a corner and slept in that. Had she always been so cautious? Surely the bright eyed girl he'd seen with Anitta in those pictures had slept soundly and with ease. Some of the pictures she was sprawled out in the backyard, her features peaceful as she slept in the sun.

Tonight he was watching her from a the roof of a neighboring motel. She paced the small room, pausing at the desk with empty vials and a syringe that she'd covered with a cloth of some sort.

She obviously meant to start rebuilding her stock pile of blood that she'd probably exhausted on her trick to escape them. But upon removing the needle from the kit she pulled from her bag she'd clearly become anxious.

So much so that he could see the tension in the way she moved and sweat that was starting to run down her neck. If drawing her blood made her so distraught why would she of endured filling so many vials before?

She vanished from his view for a while longer than he preferred but she appeared again with several small bottles that could only of been some sort of alcohol she'd retrieved from a mini fridge. She threw them back before she moved to the window and dragged it open.

He stared at her face through his binoculars and inhaled sharply.

All color had drained from her face, she gripped the window seal with shaking hands and she was struggling to level out her breathing.

When the wind picked up it brought the scent of absolute terror. Disgust weighed in heavily, then anger but the terror was the strongest and it shook him to his core. How the hell had she managed to fill the amount of vials she'd thrown so liberally in the forest before? He'd thought she was anxious but this was so much more, either drawing blood or the needle terrified her, the fact that it terrified her so much pissed her off but that didn't change the strength of her need to get away from it. To not do it.

He watched as she took another almost gasping breath, move to finish another bottle of what she'd grabbed and move back to the desk.

Forcibly she dragged her sleeve up, grabbed a rubber band and with her teeth, tightened it on her upper arm.

A second later she was holding the syringe in her other hand, her jaw clenched so hard he knew her teeth were grinding painfully against each other.

Another deep breath and she was removing the cap and bringing it to her forearm, it lingered there, barely touching her skin for so long he thought she was going to stop but with a strangled sound that he was surprised he could hear from his distance, it pressed into her skin and god he'd thought she was pale before.

The desk was close enough to the window that the wind carried her scent through it still and it held terror he'd only ever experienced in the labs he'd been created and it grated against every one of his senses and brought the animal inside him into a fury. Even with the need to fight coursing though him there was nothing that he _could_  fight. All he could do was watch, grinding his own teeth as she continued . The next vial had her shaking so hard he was surprised she even managed to get her vein let alone stand up right.

Three filled vials later she had all of the supplies thrown back in her pack and a hand pressed against her mouth as she moved out onto the small balcony into the cold night air.

He hadn't expected her to slip onto the ground and lay looking up at the sky. He also hadn't expected her to fall asleep like that, hadn't even known she had fallen asleep until she shifted onto her side and curled up the way she always did when she was asleep.


	10. Most of our feelings they're dead and gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Youth by Daughter

She'd never been good with needles.

She didn't know why but it was seated so deep in her mind there was nothing she could do to push it away or ignore it. Needles, especially syringes had her chest tightening painfully and fear threading through her body, the impulse to scream and run and cry out shamefully. She hated it so venomously that that hatred jacked up the fear and made her physically ill.

The only reason why she was able to use the epipens was because it was usually an a last resort, an action done on instinct and she had so little time to think about the needle that she didn't have time to react, it also helped that she couldn't  _see_  the damn thing. Once she had Piper try to draw some of her blood while she was asleep, thinking that it might work, but the moment she'd pushed the needle into her skin, even in sleep the nausea and terror had swept through her and then she was awake, flooded by the need to get away and a stronger need to get sick. Now she had to put on a whole song and dance of pushing herself into it. Occasionally drinking something to dull her senses, which she didn't like, but anything to make it easier to get it over with. Usually when she decided to take her blood, she was so utterly exhausted that it was easier, not by much but anything was better than doing it well rested. She knew now that eating before hand was pointless, if she had anything in her stomach she'd get sick and then not be able to stomach eating for the next day or two. Instead nursing water and other tasteless liquids.

She forced her legs to carry her out onto the balcony so the chilled air would ease the heat that had taken hold of her.

It had taken way too long for her heart rate to return to normal, even more for the nausea to pass but by then she'd been too exhausted get up and go back into the room. Instead, even with the knowledge of being out in the open, she closed her eyes and simply felt the night around her. She wrapped her mind around her in the way she'd been practicing on the many long bus rides, blocking out the faint thrumming of sensation that the people around her caused but keeping it open to anything that might want to cause her harm and exhaled as she felt it react the way she'd wanted.

She still didn't know what exactly she was doing but she knew she was getting better at it. Shielding herself from someone with stronger senses, hopefully forming a barrier to prevent empaths from getting a read on her, all while setting up a kind of mental alarm system that would wake her on intent directed at her before it got to the room and she was woken up by instinct that someone dangerous was getting too close.

As the darkness of sleep started to drag her down, her mind reached out, just a bit farther than she'd ever managed while fully awake and seemed brushed against the presence of the lion she'd blown a kiss too before. The image of those molten gold eyes flashed through her mind just before the dreamless sleep took over.

 +++

Lore checked in with Jonas, assured him that he had Ashlynn in his sights. Though Jonas couldn't know how honest that statement was and that it wouldn't be as easy for her to shake him as she had before. He gave him his update, information to fill in her file but didn't include her visceral reaction to needles. All while barely taking his eyes off of her sleeping form. With her out in the open and vulnerable the way she was, he kept a closer eye on the surrounding area. Watched everyone that not only entered the building she was in but who left it as well.

His gun had already been out but now he had it prepared in case someone moved in on her, though he doubted it. But it was better to be safe than sorry and he'd be more than sorry if Jonas or Callan found out she was injured or even killed while he was within shooting range of her.

After Callan had been given the envelope that they'd recovered, he'd been even more adamant on her protection. It was Scheme all over again for the Pride leader. She was young and doing something that most people, most hardened men wouldn't dare and she did it _well_. Anitta's bond with her as a child no doubt encouraged Callan to place the order of protection on her but the fact that she'd been risking her life since she was a just child to aide their cause had sealed it. She was Anitta's adopted daughter, the lioness even had legal papers drawn up from a connection she had made. She had been the legal guardian of Ashlynn Arianna Rothman, whose name had been changed to Ashlynn Arianna Travers after the adoption. How Anitta had managed it, he didn't know, but it was there. She was hers in all but blood and once they got her to come in, she'd be brought into the Pride as though she were Callan's family as well. The Pride leader would declare her as such.

Hopefully with the declaration and Lore had no doubt that it would be done publicly with reporters and an extravagant party, The Council would have to keep their sights off of her.

That was _if_ they could get her to join up with them instead of running her group underground the way she had been all these years and risk The Council not only getting to her but the people with her. If they could get her to join up with them instead of /abducting her/, which would be exactly what The Council would do if they ever caught up with her.

Sighing he rubbed his forehead and stood trying to stretch his legs out and release the tension that was forming in his back and shoulders. The sun was going to start rising soon and amazingly, Ashlynn was still asleep. She hadn't moved once since curling up in a ball and he'd been tempted to sneak over and put a damn blanket on her but he knew if he got anywhere near her she'd wake up sensing his arrival and on the chance that she was too exhausted to feel his presence, she'd still be alerted that she was being watched. No, she was going to have to remain out in the chilled night air until she finally woke up.

 +++

Her entire body was sore but the majority of the stiffness came from her right side. The side she'd slept on out on the hard balcony floor. It wasn't like she wasn't used to sleeping on the floor but the cold night seemed to have done a number on her body.

She cursed herself while in the shower, cursed herself while gathering her supplies and food.

One made to order deli sandwich that she ate right away, a box of protein bars, a box of strawberry breakfast bars and several bottles of water were now stashed away in her pack. The weight was uncomfortable but not something she was unaccustomed to.

She then cursed herself some more, just for good measure knowing if Crane ever found out about her moment of failure and vulnerability, he'd be livid and throw her into another week long refresher course of training.

Delta always looked at her differently when she came back from those. Piper and Ray always growled about the 'Bastard Wolf' that they never really got to know because he'd gone into almost constant hiding because of the Council before they'd met. If Crane was out in the open too much, the threat of The Council finding them because of him grew too much. She stopped and smiled at the kindly old bus driver that she'd 'ran into' in the gas station/diner. He waved to her before getting onto the bus.

Because of her conversation with Eugene earlier, she had a slightly discounted seat on his bus and the assurance that he wouldn't leave without her so that she could finish gathering up supplies.

She thanked the skies for homely small towns and even homelier people that usually lived in them, while she ran through her check list as she sorted through her pack, making sure she had everything, that the weapons were wrapped in her clothing so that they wouldn't press obviously against the fabric of the bag but still accessible if needed. Deciding that she had everything she needed at the moment, whatever missing wouldn't be missed until she could stop again, she stood and made her way to the bus not wanting to hold Eugenie up any longer but as she reached towards the door she stopped.

She hadn't been testing the area as much today, being too mentally fatigued to do more than let her instincts warn her like they usually did. Like when she'd gotten out of the taxi and felt the Breed men waiting in her home.

So she hadn't felt the dark violence that sat within the bus until she'd neared it and her mind brushed it.

But now she did, she reached out and focused on expanding the distance and felt another two in the surrounding area.

How had they found her? Or were these Coyotes that were filled with so much need for violence and blood shed, just out wandering in hopes of finding someone on The Councils hit list?

Either way, she couldn't get on the bus now but she also couldn't raise the alarm that she knew they were there by running.

Coyotes loved the challenge of a chase.

She was trying to figure out a good reason for escape when she felt someone else and had to fight the urge to smile.

The lion from before wasn't too far off, in fact he was getting closer quickly, would probably be pulling into the parking lot- she shifted and watched as a beat up old truck pulled in next to the diner.

She let a look of surprised delight slip onto her face as she turned back to Eugene, it wasn't even all that forced, she was genuinely pleased right now.

"I'm so sorry Eugene! But it looks like my boyfriend was able to make it after all, so I don't need that seat."

Eugene twisted and looked at the parking lot, spotted the new arrival and narrowed his eyes. "I'd say take a ride with us anyway, it'd serve him right for leaving you stranded, it isn't safe."

He was genuinely put off and when he stood to get off the bus she was more than surprised. She was down right shocked.

"If some man had pulled something like this on one of my daughters or granddaughters I'd of wanted someone to put him in his place, the nerve of some men!"

She hadn't wanted to make a scene, had only wanted an adequate reason for not getting on the last bus to depart for the next six hours and not alert the Coyote _on_  the bus that she knew he was there.

That was not what she was getting.

Putting her hands up she waved them and stammered a bit trying to distract him from his clearly now rising fury.

"N-no! It's okay! I didn't give him the call early enough and thought it'd be easier to just go on my own, really, it's _fine!_ "

He was already stepping off the bus, a hand on the door as he shot what she could only assume was the look of an outraged father in the trucks direction.

She risked a look back and found that he was indeed watching them. The flicker of amusement on his face had her knowing he could damn well hear them even from there.  
When he looked back down at her he released a sigh and shook his head.

"You're sure you don't want me to say something? I was serious about that ride, we've got the room, let him suffer a little"

Her responding smile was more sincere than she expected and she forced herself to ignore the twinge of emotion at the honesty of his outburst. He was a good man, she'd known it when she approached him, it was _why_  she had approached him. He told her about his grand-kids while they ate and more than once caste a worried look in her direction. She'd felt his want to ask her if she was okay, if she was in trouble but he withheld it wisely.

"I'm sure, thank you Eugene"

He slowly nodded and shot another heated look towards the truck before slipping back up the stairs and into his seat. A second later the doors closed and he was waving goodbye as he was pulling away.

She allowed herself to wave back, only taking a few steps away at a time to make sure the Coyote on the bus remained on the bus. He did, he was furious about it but he did and he'd be getting in contact with the others in the area within moments.

Once the bus was far enough away, she turned and hauled ass for the alley beside the diner part of the gas station.

Right by the truck and the lion that was within it.

She could feel the others moving in, one quicker than the others and she barely heard the displeased growl before she was slipping through the shadows of the alley way. If she timed it right, the Coyotes would have to get past the lion to get to her.

Pitting one group against the other would hopefully slow the ones that wanted her blood over the one that didn't.


	11. Under investigation lies a bitter heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad Intentions by Digital Daggers

Lore swore when he caught the scent of the Coyotes. His amusement at her excuse not to get on the bus fading much too quickly for his liking.

That bus driver had been ready to deck him one, he didn't know what she'd said before but he HAD caught her claiming her boyfriend had arrived after all. Pulling out his phone he started the truck again and peeled out of the parking lot towards the area he hoped she'd come out of. He'd went over the small town when she arrived, knowing she'd go for the buses because they were the only options in this area that didn't involve stealing a car and he knew she wouldn't risk the attention that would bring. He had a basic idea of where she'd be able to go, he only hoped he had it right because if the Coyotes actually got to her before he could, Callan and Jonas would have his head.

"Cabal, I've got Council Coyotes trailing her- No I _don't_  know how they found her, I was supposed to tail her, you and Tanner were supposed to keep tabs on Council movement!"

He ignored the bengal's growls as he caught a glimpse of movement coming from behind a house.

Damn, she moved like a Breed, if he didn't know who she was he would have thought she _was_  one.

"Dammit Cabal just fucking do something about it instead of growling at me and I'll grab her" the last thing he heard before he canceled the call was the Bengals less than polite snort, which meant he clearly didn't believe he could 'grab her'. He agreed with Cabals silent proclamation, the'd be no 'grabbing' Ashlynn Travers if she didn't want to be caught.

He met her a the end of the road, opened his door just as the sounds of a bike started to move closer.

She saw him, looked down the road and kept running towards him. A second later, she was dragging the door of his truck open and getting in with a shout as she slammed the door behind her.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE GET IN THE DAMN TRUCK AND FLOOR IT, HE'S GETTING TOO CLOSE!"

He didn't allow himself to be stunned, instead he jumped back in and did just as she said.

Ashlynn was piecing together an escape plan when she'd spotted the truck from earlier driving down the road, decided once it turned and ended up in front of her that it was the best course of action she could take right now.

Either steal the truck and leave the lion stranded, if she could get away from him in it fast enough or get in, make him drive and arm herself for the enemies that weren't far behind them.

She settled for the second.

As he sped out of the area she concentrated on laying out her next moves. Right now, she had a get away driver, one that didn't mean her harm and hated their pursuers as much as she did. The bonus of having a fully capable lion Breed at her side was the fact that she could put him between them and her, he'd fight them himself putting her at less of a risk of physical injury, making it easier for her to get away.

But it put her right in the lap of the lion that had been trailing her since the ambush at her home.

"We're going to need to keep as much space between us as possible in order to get to a better populated area and prevent them from firing on us."

He glanced over at her but he didn't turn to face her.

"I'm not risking people by taking the chance that they wont fire on us with them around."

She leveled him with a glare and fought the urge to bare her teeth and snarl her reply. Living with Breeds all your life meant you tended to pick up on their habits, the good and bad. Piper and Ray were always amused when she bared her teeth at them or growled, Ray called her their feral little sister. He probably wasn't too far off the mark with that one, at least, the feral part.

"They aren't going to fire on us in a populated area, it'd bring attention to them and they don't want that, circle back through town and get us headed for the state park. There'll be more options that way than there are if you keep us on this road."

He didn't appear to agree with her reasoning but he followed her instructions anyway, taking the road that would loop them back into the town. Even though she was aware of him watching her, she concentrated on the on-coming desire to kill.

The closest one wasn't following them close enough to see, clearly not wanting to alert them that they were being followed but his intent was all she needed. It was making her feel sick and light headed but she kept focusing on it, trying to pick up on the others she'd sensed before but couldn't pick them up, at least not _yet_.

"Dammit, they're too far away."

He looked at her almost quizzically and she realized that she _hadn't_  only thought that statement but had angrily muttered it out-loud to herself.

"That would normally be a good thing, wouldn't it?"

She decided against glaring at him again in favor of scanning the area behind them. Of course he'd think losing them was a good thing, if they were all together it _would_  be but they weren't and that meant that they had an element of surprise on their side.

"I can't decide an effective course of action if I don't know where they are. If they send someone ahead of us they'll try to direct where we go and possibly lead us into a trap. Us losing them could just be a ploy to get us to slow down or drop our guard. You should know this, shouldn't you? Weren't you trained for shit like this too?"

She noticed him tense but his eyes remained on the road as he floored it past a mini van and took the next road that would lead them back towards the park.

"You're awfully cautious, aren't you."

She narrowed her eyes and turned to him, finding those damn golden eyes watching her again.

"Happens when you get ambushed enough times."

His gaze returned to the road but he was grinning so wide now that she could see one of his incisors.

"You got away easy enough didn't you?"

She cursed the laughter in his voice, wasn't this the one that had been beyond furious that she'd escaped them? What the hell had happened between then and now.

 +++

If he really wanted to fool himself, he could imagine that she was forced to rely on him right now. She wasn't of course, he'd seen the gears turning behind her eyes the moment she'd been in range of the truck, had he of hesitated in getting back in and driving, she would have had herself in the drivers seat, leaving him on the side of the road for the Coyote that was closing in on them.

She was using him as a means to escape and then she'd find a way to slip right out of his fingers yet again if she had to. Lucky for her however, his mission was to track her and ensure she didn't get herself killed and let her lead them to her group.

He barely caught the moment her pupils shrank and her body tensed before the scent of her fury over took the truck and was all but burned within his mind.

"Take the next turn it leads towards the state park, I know the area there."

He turned back to the road and inhaled sharply but prepared to take the turn anyway.

"We aren't going to out run them going this way."

Her voice was almost a growl and he had to stop himself from growling right back.

"I recognize one of 'em, and I don't want to get away from them. I'm going to fucking kill them."

He flashed her an incredulous look, shocked at the hard certainty in her voice.

She would kill them, he could see it in the way her eyes had turned cold making them as eerily pale as Jonas's and filled with just as much intent. The lion rioted inside him bringing with it an elation at her declaration that had him more shocked at himself than at her. It wanted to watch her out match the Coyotes.

Wanted to rejoice in the victory that was sure to come, that it _knew_  would come.

The snarl that made its way past his lips didn't even phase her, if she even noticed at all. She was watching the empty road behind them with narrowed eyes while her hands moved automatically to her pack, removing guns and their harnesses. He couldn't help but watch from the corner of his eye as she moved so thoughtlessly. Preparing for battle with a skilled ease that sent electricity though his veins, excited anticipation made his heart beat quicken at the thought of a hunt. More so at the thought of _her_  hunting. Then her hands drifted to his own weapons and she inspected them quickly before slipping one of his blades into the holster she'd placed around her thigh and another in the one slung over her shoulder. Reaching up, she wrapped her fingers around the blade handle and tugged, testing the position and then secured it better making it so that the handle was hidden at her neck but easily accessible.

He wanted to watch her do this again.

Over and over and over.

He would probably never get enough of it. Hell he _knew_  he'd never get tired of it.

"Two lefts and a right and we'll be headed into heavy cover. Their bikes will most likely have barriers, so they need lured away from them but the truck wont make it up the trail that'll force them to follow on foot. I don't care what you do, _lion,_ but don't get in my way and don't touch the leader. Hes mine and I _will_  kill you if you take him from me."

She wasn't lying but he didn't need scent to figure that out, he could see it in her eyes. If he took her kill, she'd kill him.

Her eyes no longer held mischief that he'd seen etched within them while watching her, the thoughtful calculation had turned cold, deadly. Nothing like when she'd escaped them or blew him that kiss before. She was a whole other person right now, one that was prepared to kill or be killed. When her eyes finally came back to him, he tensed.

Damn, how long had her eyes been able to look at someone like that? It was a look he knew well, saw it within his own eyes and many of the Breeds at the compound. Her eyes were fire and rage, a soul bent on dealing painful retribution but her face remained almost devoid of emotion, _relaxed_. Deceptively calm features hid a hurricane lashing against her skin from within and how she held it in was beyond him.

Right now, she might even out match some of their most hardened fighters. If she became anymore enraged, he had no doubt that she'd start to look more feral than some of the Breeds lost to feral fever. Whoever the leader was he didn't envy them. They wouldn't have a easy death if she had any say in it.

"Lore, my name is Lore."

She snorted holding her satchel for a moment before pulling it over her shoulder and tightening the strap.

"I didn't ask for you name, pick up the speed."


End file.
